EUGENE, Ore. – For the first time this season, the Northwest Christian University men's basketball team has dropped two straight contests, getting swept on the road in Cascade Collegiate Conference action by Eastern Oregon University and The College of Idaho.

The Beacons were tied with the Mounties at halftime on Friday night, 34-34, but couldn't overcome Eastern Oregon's 68% second-half shooting as EOU pulled away with an 84-68 victory. “We thought going in that tonight's key was going to be rebounding,” said Head Coach Dave Lipp. “We held a lead in that category at halftime and we were tied.”

Lipp added, “We lost our focus for about five minutes in the second half where we didn't rebounds and we couldn't shoot. That was the difference in the game.”

Northwest Christian was led by Andrew Miller, scoring 18 points on 7-for-14 shooting. Erik Quick-Warner added ten points and a team-high four assists and Dylan Perry once again had a strong performance off the bench, scoring nine points and a team-high eight rebounds.

Five players were in double-digits for the Mounties (8-3, 2-2 CCC), currently ranked #22 in the NAIA Coaches Poll. Leading the way was Neil Fryer with 18 points, shooting 7-for-8 from the free-throw line on top of a 5-for-10 night from the field. Paul Carollo added 15 points after scoring just two in the first half.

On Saturday the Beacons traveled to face The College of Idaho, only to fall 71-65. In a game marred by 55 fouls and 72 free throws, charity tosses for the Yotes inside the final 30 seconds proved the difference as C of I pulled out the victory.

The Coyotes used a 15-4 first half run to take a 21-15 lead and pushed the margin to 39-30 at the break. The Yotes led by as much as 47-34 in the second half, but NCU would not fold. With four College of Idaho starters on the bench, each with four fouls, the Beacons whittled at the margin, closing to within 66-65 on a Perry layup inside the final minute.

Defense played the final card, as Kelvin Potts corralled a rebound off a missed layup by Quick-Warner and hit both free throws after the ensuing foul. The Beacons had another shot with ten second left, but a Jordan Whittenburg three-point attempt failed and two more free throws put the game out of reach.

Quick-Warner led Northwest Christian (9-6, 3-3 CCC) with 16 points, which included eight at the charity stripe. Brent McKee came off the bench to score 14, hitting 4-for-5 from the field, adding five free-throws. Cameron Marshall registered a double-double for NCU with ten points and ten rebounds and was one of five Beacons to finish the game with at least four fouls. Quick-Warner was the only play for the Beacons to foul out.

The College of Idaho (6-8, 2-2 CCC) was led by Craig McGee, scoring 20 points to include a 12-for-17 effort at the free-throw line. Jabari McIntosh had a career high 11 points and seven rebounds before fouling out.

The Beacons will be back in action this weekend, playing host to #1 Oregon Tech and Southern Oregon.